1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toy hoops and guide sticks, and more particularly pertains to an improved guide stick construction which enables a wide variety of maneuvers and tricks to be performed on a rolling hoop. Toy rolling hoops and guide sticks have been known for many years as toys for the amusement of children. With the increasing knowledge of the importance of physical exercise to the maintenance of good health, recent attention has been given to the use of such toy hoops and guide sticks as providing entertaining exercise devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of toy hoops and guide sticks are known in the prior art. A typical example of such a toy hoop and guide stick is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,254,443, which issued to M. Olson on June 7, 1966. This patent discloses an elongated guide stick having a bifurcated end portion for manipulation of a circular hoop. The circular hoop is formed from a plastic material with a frictional connection fitting. U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,000, which issued to J. Jenkins on Jan. 29, 1974, discloses a toy hoop and guide stick which utilizes an elongated wooden stick provided with a transversely extending wire hoop engaging element. U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,564, which issued to I. Jasinski on May 30, 1978, discloses a toy circular disk and an associated elongated guide stick. The guide stick has a rectangular channel member having a width only slightly greater than the width of the associated disk. U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,341, which issued to E. Klukos on June 12, 1984, discloses a toy circular hoop and associated guide stick. The guide stick has a bifurcated end portion for manipulation of the hoop. U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,830, which issued to A. Moore on Oct. 14, 1986, discloses a circular disk-shaped wheel adapted for manipulation by an elongated guide stick. A U-shaped wire member is secured adjacent one end of the guide stick.
While the above mentioned devices are suited for their intended usage, none of these devices include a rectangular channel member having two parallel side walls separated by an extent equal to about twice the width of the associated circular hoop. This feature allows a variety of maneuvers and tricks to be performed through manipulation of the hoop. These maneuvers are not capable of being performed bY the aforementioned prior art devices. An additional feature of the present invention, not disclosed by any of the aforementioned prior art devices is the provision of a circular hoop having a hollow circular interior portion forming a track for the reception of a plurality of rolling members. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of toy hoops and guide sticks, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for and interest in improvements to such toy hoops and guide sticks, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.